The Ultimate Guide To Goblin Valley State Park -

Goblin Valley State Park is the best place to take kids in Utah! Why? It is basically one giant natural playground. You can climb and explore endless rocks. You can go back multiple times and still discover something new.

General Information

Fee: $20 per vehicle (expires at 10 pm the following day) or annual StateParkPass
Small visitor's center with gift shop
One main road with large parking lot at the end
Restrooms, picnic tables, & water spicket at parking lot
Campground inside the State Park. Tents, RV, & 2 yurts. Booking opens 4 months in advance
Dogs allowed; must be leashed at all times

For the most up-to-date information visit the Goblin Valley State Park website here.

What to do

Explore the Valley of the Goblins

The Valley of the Goblins is 4.68 square miles of rock formations that you can climb & explore! You kids (and you!) will love spending the day just running around.

Find the Secret Cave

Among all the Goblins is a hidden cave! It is a fun cave for both the kids and the adults. It is also a fantastic place to cool off during a hot day.

To find the secret cave:

Looking out at the Valley of the Goblins from the pavilion you will see 3 white hills in the distance.

Head towards the middle hill.

Go to the left of this middle white hill.

You will see the entrance to the cave. It looks out directly at the hill.

The cave is fun to explore inside!

Utah Mountain Mama family sitting inside the cave with light beams from above coming in on them.

Two children looking up in awe inside cave.

Toddler girl pretending to play the drums on rocks inside the cave. Her father is watching her smiling.

Silhouette of young boy inside cave looking out.

Inside the deepest part of the cave looking out.

You can even climb around and on top of the cave! We gave high fives through the hole to those on top.

Outside the cave. Father and child in a hole looking out above the cave

Young boy walking to hole above the cave.

Young boy giving a high five from inside the cave to someone above the cave through a hole in the top.

Take a hike

Goblin Valley offers 5 marked trails each ranging from easy to strenuous. They take you inside a goblin’s lair, through canyon narrows, and past numerous unique goblins. We have been told that about 1/2 mile from the Goblins Lair is another secret cave!

Check out the Goblin Valley State Park website here for more information on each trail.

Play Disc Golf @ the course near the campground

There is a Disc Golf course by the campground! This course is awesome as you get to play among the unique rock formations.

Best time to go

Located in Central Eastern Utah this area can get HOT in the summer! Along with Monsoon season being July – September that can bring flash floods. The best time to visit is in the Spring or Fall. Just be aware that it can get very crowded in the Spring (particularly April/May).

Photography Tip

Head into Goblin Valley State Park for sunrise. The sun rises over the Valley of the Goblins for beautiful cotton candy colored photos.

What to do outside the park

Hike Little Wildhorse Canyon & Bell Canyon

This is a family friendly slot canyon hike! It is 8 miles long where you go up Little Wildhorse Slot Canyon and loop around to come back down Bell slot canyon. Much of the back side is not in a slot canyon. You can opt to go up Little Wildhorse Canyon as far as you would like then turn around and come back out if 8 miles doesn’t meet your family’s needs.

For more in depth information about this hike click here.

To get to the Little Wild Horse Canyon & Bell Canyon Trailhead turn west onto Wildhorse road just before the Goblin Valley State Park entrance.

The Trailhead is located 5.4 miles down Wildhorse road. This is a well maintained dirt road & a highly trafficked trail.

Hike Ding Dang Slot Canyon

Another great slot canyon if you do not have little kids is the Ding & Dang Canyons. This fun slot canyon is rated as difficult and NOT for beginners or the inexperienced. Many people have had to be rescued here in the past. So please only go if you are experienced. This Slot Canyon requires rope.

Get more detailed information here.

The Ding & Dang Slot Canyons are located another 1.3 miles past the Little Wildhorse Bell Canyons Trailhead along Wildhorse road.

Hike Wildhorse Window

This is a beautiful 1.8 mile lightly trafficked moderate trail into the San Rafael Swell to a natural bridge. Be aware that the trail is not well marked.

Learn more details about the trail here .

Temple Mountain Wash Pictographs

Near Goblin Valley is Temple Mountain. There are some beautiful pictographs just off the road on your way to Temple Mountain. You do not need to do any hiking. You view the pictographs from from your car.

Uranium Mine @ Temple Mountain

Temple Mountain is a stunning mountain that towers in the desert! There is an old Uranium mine near there with Temple Mountain in the background. It is documented that Madame Curie even visited this site as to see where ore of such fine quality came from.

Technically the entire loop around Temple Mountain is about 10 miles long and is popular among ATVs. We like to just go to the mining homes that are near the trailhead and up to a few of the mine shafts & an ore cart ramp.

The mine shafts are all closed off. Do not try and enter a mine shaft! It is fun to just walk around and check it out.

Our detailed trail guide is coming soon and will be linked here when complete.

Camping

Camping inside the park

Goblin Valley State Park has 1 campground. The Campground has 24 sites, 1 group area, and 2 yurts. The campground accommodates both tents and RVs.

You can expect a very nice campground with clean flushing toilets, showers, water spicket, and a dumpster for garbage.

The campground fills up very quickly during peak season (April- October). The yurts go especially quickly. Reservations open up 4 months in advance. We suggest setting a reminder in your phone 4 months from when you plan to go if you want to stay here.

Camping outside the park

There are numerous places to camp on public lands and in BLM campgrounds outside the park.

Below is a map where we have marked every area that is available for camping with a “C”. We have also marked where you can find restrooms (green dots) and water spickets (blue dots).

This map is intended to give you a general overview of the area. Dots aren’t marked exact.

You can break the camping up into 4 areas:

C1. Inside Goblin Valley State Park. There are restrooms and water spickets at the entrance, campground, and parking lot.

C2. Wildhorse road. To get to here take a right .25 miles before the Goblin Valley State Park entrance. The dispersed camping is along this road. The restrooms and water spicket are at the Little Wildhorse Bell Canyon trailhead.

C3. Along Goblin Valley road there are some dirt roads where you will find campsites. There are no water spickets or restrooms here.

C4 & C5. The temple mountain area has 2 BLM campgrounds and spots for dispersed camping. There are restrooms at the 2 campgrounds.

Our personal favorite area is the area down Wildhorse road. There are many dirt roads that lead from the main road to places to camp along the base of the mountain. This area is beautiful and each campsite has its own little alcove.

The Temple Mountain area is also very beautiful. These campsites don’t offer as much privacy though.

Camping in any spot in the area gets full on weekends. We suggest getting there no later than 4 pm on Friday if you want to even find a spot to camp.

The geology of the area is incredibly fascinating and beautiful. Be sure and explore around the trails of where you are camping. You are sure to find Geodes and other interesting rocks!

Remember that you are in the desert. The desert ecosystem is very fragile. Please stay on roads and camp at campsites that have already been established.

Happy Trails

We love 2 things about Goblin Valley State Park and the surrounding area.

This is the perfect place for kids to climb, explore, and simply be a kid.
You can come here multiple times and still find something new & exciting each time.

Goblin Valley State Park is one of our favorite places in all of Utah. We are already planning our next trip the moment we leave. Happy trails to Goblin Valley State Park until we meet again.